Systems and Methods for Producing Build Calls

ABSTRACT

Techniques are disclosed for making an automated telephone call more interactive and intelligent by saving responses gathered from a previous call and using that information to build more personal and engaging subsequent interactions. An initial telephone call can be designed with data needs in mind. Relevant responses from the initial calls can be captured and stored and a follow-up call can be created that includes dialogs that reference specific information from the previous interactions with the system. Such build call techniques can be utilized on outbound, as well as inbound calls, and can simulate a human being&#39;s ability to listen, remember and refer to past conversations, making the automated telephone calls more interactive and effective.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/898,351 filed 30 Jan. 2007, the entire content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to automated telephone callingtechniques and, and more particularly, to methods and systems used tocapture specific responses from an initial automated telephoneconversation and using that data to build or create a more personal andintelligent future interactions with the person involved with theinitial telephone call.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In the new, connected economy, it has become increasingly important forcompanies or service providers to become more in tune with their clientsand customers. Such contact can be facilitated with automated telephonictransaction systems, in which interactively-selected prompts are playedin the context of a telephone transaction, and the replies of a humanuser are recognized by an automatic speech recognition system.

The answers given by the respondent are processed by the system in orderto convert the spoken words to meaning, which can then be utilizedinteractively, or stored in a database. One example of such a system isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,179, issued in the names of LucasMerrow et al. on 24 Jan. 2006 and assigned to the assignee of thepresent application, further discussed below, the entire content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

In order for a computer system to recognize the words that are spokenand convert these words to text, the system must be programmed tophonetically break down the spoken words and convert portions of thewords to their textural equivalents. Such a conversion requires anunderstanding of the components of speech and the formation of thespoken word. The production of speech generates a complex series ofrapidly changing acoustic pressure waveforms. These waveforms comprisethe basic building blocks of speech, known as phonemes.

Vowels and consonants are phonemes and have many differentcharacteristics, depending on which components of human speech are used.The position of a phoneme in a word has a significant effect on theultimate sound generated. A spoken word can have several meanings,depending on how it is said. Linguists have identified allophones asacoustic variants of phonemes and use them to more explicitly describehow a particular word is formed.

Automated telephone calls that use speech recognition are a costeffective method of engaging large populations; organizations use thismethodology to reach out to thousands of people in a single day.

While such prior art automated telephone call techniques can beeffective for their intended purposes, such techniques can presentcertain problems and limitations. For example, if the telephone callsare perceived by the recipient as being impersonal orcontext-insensitive, and thus not approximating a conversation with alive human being, the call(s) can be ineffective.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure addresses the limitations and problems notedpreviously for prior art automated phone call techniques by providingmethods and systems for capturing specific responses from an initialautomated telephone conversation and using that data to build or createa more personal and intelligent subsequent interaction with the personinvolved with the initial telephone call. A primary purpose of any suchsubsequent “build calls” includes that information conveyed or acquiredduring a previous or initial call or information concerning an action(or lack thereof) requested during a previous or initial call isutilized (or built upon) for a subsequent call.

An embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method of creating anengaging and intelligent series of speech-activated telephone calls,where a follow-up conversation with an individual builds upon responsesgathered from a previous call that the system conducted with thatperson. An initial telephone call can be made or conducted to a callrecipient or targeted person. Information can be gathered or receivedfrom that person during the initial call and saved for subsequent use.One or more subsequent calls can be made to the same person, with theone or more subsequent calls being built with or incorporatinginformation received from the called person during the initial call. Anautomated system can be used to make the initial call and/or thesubsequent call as well as for recording responses of the called person.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a systemconfigured to initiate and conduct (hold) initial and/or subsequentcalls to one or more targeted people over a telephone system. For suchcalls, the system can produce spoken voice prompts for telephony-basedinformational interaction. The system can record responses given duringan initial call. The information recorded by the system can be used forone or more subsequent calls, or build calls, to the same individual(s).Each subsequent call can incorporate or be based (or built) oninformation gathered from the called person during the previous call(s),forming a so-called “build call”. The system can include an automatedcalling system, a storage system/medium, and a speech recognitionsystem. For populations (e.g., large) of targeted or potential callrecipients, the speech recognition system can be speaker-independent sothat it does not require any voice training by the individual callrecipients.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure may be more fullyunderstood from the following description when read together with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be regarded as illustrative innature, and not as limiting. The drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed on the principles of the disclosure. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a flow chart according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts further method portions in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 depicts a diagrammatic view of a system in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

While certain embodiments depicted in the drawings, one skilled in theart will appreciate that the embodiments depicted are illustrative andthat variations of those shown, as well as other embodiments describedherein, may be envisioned and practiced within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are directed totechniques, including methods and systems, for creating an engaging andintelligent series of speech-activated telephone calls, where afollow-up conversation with an individual builds upon responses gatheredfrom a previous call the system conducted with that person.

To utilize automated telephone calls to interact successfully with abroad range of people, it is desirable to be as precise and personal aspossible for such communication. Embodiments of the present disclosureprovide for successive automated calls that are personalized,context-sensitive, and thus life-like. A primary purpose of any suchsubsequent “build calls” includes that information conveyed or acquiredduring a previous or initial call or information concerning an action(or lack thereof) requested during a previous or initial call isutilized (or built upon) for a subsequent call.

As was described previously, automated telephone calls that use speechrecognition are a cost effective method of engaging large populations;organizations use this methodology to reach out to thousands of peoplein a single day. Research has shown that automated calls can be moreeffective to the extent they are personalized, context-sensitive, andthus approximate a conversation with a live human being. People are morelikely to engage in an automated telephone call, using speechrecognition technology, if the conversation approximates an interactionbetween two human beings, instead of the more traditional approach toautomated calls, which often involves one-way, repetitive communicationfrom the computer to the human being at the other end of the telephoneline.

There are a number of ways to make an automated conversation more“real,” as described herein; embodiments of the present disclosureutilize a unique approach that includes “remembering” past interactionsand intelligently using that information to engage someone in asubsequent follow-up conversation. Such building on an initialconversation does not require the caller to access a record created on apast call, even if the person is calling inbound to engage in the secondconversation. Rather, embodiments of the present disclosure include theability to dynamically recognize an inbound or outbound caller and sharerelevant information based upon the last time the system “spoke” (e.g.,interacted) with them.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a flow chart according toan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. An initial telephonecall can be designed and conducted to engage individuals, as describedat 102. Information or data can be gathered from the individual duringthe initial call, as described at 104. One or more subsequent calls canbe designed for the called person, with the subsequent call(s) buildingupon and utilizing information from the previous conversation of theinitial call, as described at 106. The subsequent calls can be inboundor outbound calls, i.e., the initially called person can make or receivethe subsequent build call(s).

During (or subsequent to) the initial conversation, each called personcan be recognized, as described at 108. During the subsequent call(s),the called person (e.g., caller) can be recognized and that recognitioncan be conveyed to the caller, as described at 110. In such a way, thecalled person can be engaged in a personal and intelligent conversationbased upon past interactions with that person (and his/her responses).

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. An automated system can be used to convey voiceprompts to the called person during an initial call, as described at202. Similarly, an automated system can be used to convey voice promptsto the called person during one or more subsequent calls (inbound oroutbound), as described at 204.

Continuing with the description of method 200, responses to specificquestions posed during the initial call can be stored and/or processed,e.g., by a voice recognition system, as described at 206. Informationand/or data from the initial call can be taken and used to build orschedule a subsequent call, as described at 208.

FIG. 3 depicts further method portions in accordance with exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure. An automated system, e.g., asdescribed for FIG. 4, may be used to place an initial call to acalled/targeted person, as described at 302. Similarly, an automatedsystem may be used to place one or more subsequent calls to thecalled/targeted person, as described at 304.

Continuing with the description of 300, information about thecalled/targeted person from an external data source (relative to theinitial call) can be used for one or more subsequent calls to thatperson, as described at 306. The external data or information can beused in conjunction with the information/data gathered during theinitial call. Moreover, news alerts and/or other information may beconveyed to the called person during a subsequent call, as described at308. In exemplary embodiments, and without limitation, the external datasource can include insurance claim data, census demographic data,consumer purchase data, community service information, police alerts,commuter system information, and the like.

The following example is provided for further understanding of themethods and systems of the present disclosure.

EXAMPLE A Follow-up Conversation from a Car Dealership

In our last conversation, we spoke about the importance of routinemaintenance for your car, most of which is covered under the warrantyyou presently have on your automobile.

NOTE: A caller at the targeted telephone number said no to havingarranged an oil change when queried in previous call.

Specifically, we talked about the importance of having your oil changedevery 5,000 miles. Last time we spoke, your car was due for thismaintenance. Please tell me, have you had a chance to get the oilchanged?

Yes—That's excellent! CONTINUE to next flagged maintenance.

No—Okay. Are you planning to get it changed?

Yes—That's excellent. Remember, having the oil changed every 5,000 milescan have a significant impact on the health of your engine. CONTINUE TOnext flagged maintenance.

No—All right. Please do consider following-up with the dealership to getyour oil changed since it can have a significant impact on the health ofyour engine. We can even have one of our technicians come to your homeor work place to change the oil for you. CONTINUE TO next flaggedmaintenance.

NOTE: If yes to fluids in previous call, Go to electrical; if no tofluids, CONTINUE

We also talked about the importance of getting your car's fluids checkedevery three months. Have you had a chance to get your car's fluidschecked since our last conversation?

As the preceding example indicates, the follow-up call builds on a pastconversation by referring to a prior call, referencing information theperson shared in the earlier call, and cuing up specific questions basedupon an individual's response to a question in the past, all of whichapproximate a live conversation between two human beings.

FIG. 4 depicts a diagrammatic view of a system 400 in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. System 400 can be usedin conjunction with methods of the present disclosure, e.g., as shownand described for FIGS. 1-3, and can include an automated subsystem 412that includes an automated telephone calling system 414 and a speechrecognition system 416. System 400 can include a called party telephone418, and a storage system 420, as shown. Storage system 420 can includeany suitable voice recording device and/or voice recording media, e.g.,magnetic tape, flash memory, etc. for recording information from thecalled person during an initial call and/or subsequent build calls.

The automated telephone calling system 414 can be of any suitable kind,and may include a personal computer, although a main frame computersystem can also (or alternatively) be used. All of the components oftelephone calling system 414 can reside on a particular computer system,thus enabling the system to independently process data received from arespondent in the manner described below. Alternatively, the componentsof system 414 may be included in different systems that have access toeach other via a LAN or similar network. For example, the automatedtelephone calling device 414 may reside on a server system that isconfigured to receive the audio response from a telephone 418 andtransmit the response to the speech recognition device 416.

The automated telephone calling system 414 may also include a networkinterface that facilitates receipt of audio information by any of avariety of networks, such as telephone networks, cellular telephonenetworks, the Web, Internet, local area networks (LANs), wide areanetworks (WANs), private networks, virtual private networks (VPNs),intranets, extranets, wireless networks, and the like, or somecombination thereof. The automated subsystem 412 may be accessible byany one or more of a variety of input devices capable of communicatingaudio information. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, astandard telephone or cellular telephone 418.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, automated telephone calling system414 can include a database of persons to whom the automated subsystem412 is capable of initiating telephone calls, a telephone numberassociated with each person and a recorded data file that includes thetarget person's name. Such automated telephone calling devices are knownin the art. As is described below, the automated telephone callingsystem 414 is capable of initiating a telephone call to a target personand playing a prerecorded greeting prompt, asking for the target person,and/or other voice prompts and then recording responses of thecalled/target person. System 414 can then interact with speechrecognition system 416 to analyze responses received from the person ontelephone 418. The automated subsystem 412 can also respond to aninbound call from (directly or indirectly) the initially called person.

Speech recognition system 416 can function as an automated system onwhich a speech recognition application, including a series of acousticoutputs or voice prompts, which can comprise queries about a particulartopic, are programmed so that they can be presented to a respondent,preferably by means of a telephonic interaction between the queryingparty and the respondent. A speech recognition application, however, maybe any interactive application that collects, provides, and/or sharesinformation, or that is capable of such. For populations (e.g., large)of targeted or potential call recipients, the speech recognition systemcan be speaker-independent so that it does not require any voicetraining by the individual call recipients.

Exemplary embodiments of systems and methods of the present disclosurecan include that it isn't just healthcare or health plan informationthat is gathered—it could be personal information like languagepreference, time of day for a call, thoughts on a program, plannedbehavior that relates to health or other life events.

Moreover, a news alert of a subsequent call can provide community eventinformation—examples include local health clinics, seminars, etc. Incertain embodiments, a build call can be centered on or based upon theabsence of a response. For example, it could be that an attempt was madeto contact someone, they didn't call back in or take the actionrequested in the initial call (which lack action could be ascertained orknown from external data); this knowledge could be utilized in the buildcall. External data section, it should be noted, can include publiclyavailable data, e.g., from the Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS) of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention andHealth Promotion (i.e., the public health data gathered through the CDCand state Public Health departments). Additionally, cultural indicatordata, such as demographics linking a person to a particular culture mayalso be utilized.

As examples, in the present disclosure, a speech application may be anyof a group of interactive applications, including consumer surveyapplications; Web access applications; educational applications,including computer-based learning and lesson applications and testingapplications; screening applications; consumer preference monitoringapplications; compliance applications, including applications thatgenerate notifications of compliance related activities, includingnotifications regarding product maintenance; test result applications,including applications that provide at least one of standardized testsresults, consumer product test results, and maintenance results; andlinking applications, including applications that link two or more ofthe above applications.

Exemplary voice/speech recognition techniques that can be implementedwithin the scope of the present disclosure are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/219,593 filed 2 Sep. 2005, entitled “SpeechRecognition Method and System for Determining the Status of an AnsweredTelephone During the Course of an Outbound Telephone Call,” which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/945,282 filed 31Aug. 2001, entitled “Speech Recognition Method and System forDetermining the Status of an Answered Telephone During the Course of anOutbound Telephone Call,” now U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,179 (referencedabove); the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein byreference. It should be understood that such systems (or techniques) canfurther include an inbound calling features with interaction between thecaller and the speech recognition system.

Embodiments according to the present disclosure may also be used with orimplement specifically constructed voice prompts having specificallyconstructed speech parameters, such as those disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/020,217 filed 25 Jan. 2008, entitled “Systemsand Techniques for Producing Spoken Voice Prompts,” assigned to theassignee of the subject disclosure; the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure can provideadvantages relative to prior art automated phone techniques, asdescribed herein. Embodiments can be utilized to build more personal andengaging subsequent interactions, can be utilized on outbound, as wellas inbound calls and can simulate a human being's ability to listen,remember and refer to past conversations, making the automated telephonecalls more interactive and effective.

While certain embodiments have been described herein, it will beunderstood by one skilled in the art that the methods, systems, andapparatus of the present disclosure may be embodied in other specificforms without departing from the spirit thereof.

Accordingly, the embodiments described herein, and as claimed in theattached claims, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative ofthe present disclosure and not restrictive.

1. A method of producing a telephone call for telephony-basedinformational interaction, the method comprising: conducting an initialcall with a called person; gathering information from the called personduring the initial call; and conducting at least one subsequent callwith the called person, the subsequent call utilizing information fromthe called person from the initial call and any other previous call. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein conducting an initial call comprisesrecognizing a called person.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein gatheringinformation from the called person during the initial call comprisesstoring responses to specific questions posed during the call.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein conducting a subsequent call comprisesrecognizing the called person.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinrecognizing the called person comprises conveying recognition to thecalled person in the subsequent call.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinconducting an initial call comprises using an automated system to placethe initial call to the called person.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinconducting an initial call comprises using an automated system to conveyvoice prompts to the called person.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinconducting a subsequent call comprises using an automated system toplace the subsequent call to the called person.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein conducting a subsequent call comprises using an automatedsystem to convey voice prompts to the called person.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein information gathered from the called person compriseshealthcare information.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein informationgathered from the called person comprises health plan information. 12.The method of claim 1, further comprising utilizing information from anexternal data source outside of the initial call to the called person.13. The method of claim 12, wherein the external data source comprisesinsurance claim data.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the externaldata source comprises census demographic data.
 15. The method of claim12, wherein the external data source comprises consumer purchase data.16. The method of claim 1, further comprising conveying a news alert tothe called person during the subsequent call.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein the news alert comprises a public safety message.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the news alert comprises a weather report.19. The method of claim 1, wherein subsequent call includes healthcareinformation.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the subsequent callincludes health plan information.
 21. The method of claim 1, whereininformation gathered from the called person comprises languagepreference, time of day for a call, thoughts on a program, plannedbehavior that relates to health, or other life events.
 22. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the news alert comprises community event information.23. The method of claim 22, wherein the community event informationcomprises information about local health clinics or seminars.
 24. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the external data source comprises publiclyaccessible data.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the external datacomprises information from the Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS) of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention andHealth Promotion.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein the publiclyaccessible data comprises cultural indicator data.
 27. A system forconducting build calls to a target person, the system comprising: anautomated calling system configured and arranged to place an automatedinitial call including one or more spoken voice prompts to a targetperson at a called party telephone and to conduct one or more subsequentbuild calls to the target person; and a storage system configured andarranged to record responses of the target person.
 28. The system ofclaim 27, further comprising an automated speech recognition systemconfigured and arranged to process auditory responses of the targetperson as made in response to the one or more voice prompts.
 29. Thesystem of claim 27, wherein the one or more build calls incorporateinformation related to a response from the target person during theinitial call.
 30. The system of claim 27, wherein the one or more buildcalls incorporate information from an external data source external tothe initial call.
 31. The system of claim 30, wherein the external datasource comprises insurance claim data.
 32. The system of claim 30,wherein the external data source comprises census demographic data. 33.The system of claim 30, wherein the external data source comprisesconsumer purchase data.
 34. The system of claim 27, wherein the systemis configured and arranged to dynamically recognize an inbound oroutbound call conducted with the targeted caller.
 35. The system ofclaim of claim 27, wherein the one or more build calls includesinformation including an absence of a response from the called person.36. The system of claim 35, wherein information includes that the calledperson did take an action that they were requested to take.
 37. Thesystem of claim 36, wherein the action requested to take is a call to aparticular phone number.